Sep 11, 2009 10:00 pm US/Central
Montague County Animal Rescuer In Need Of Help
MONTAGUE COUNTY (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
They're the animals no one wanted, no one loved, no one cared for and they now have a happy home. A Montague County woman has opened up her heart and her land to give the animals refuge. But the woman who's dedicated her retirement to saving animals is now in need of rescue.
Terry DeGaw's guests come from all over the U.S. to find salvation at the
Serenity Springs Animal Sanctuary in Montague County. The sanctuary is near the town of Forestburg, Texas.
"There's pigs, steers, horses donkeys mini-horses, fowl and a goat," explained DeGaw as she leans on the green and yellow 4-wheel, all-terrain, vehicle she uses to get around the 23-acre sanctuary.
There are some 130 animals in DeGaw's care, but most are pigs; 91 of them. "They were a fad at one time, the pot belly pigs were," DeGaw said. "And then people found out they don't make really good pets for everybody."
"Hey girl!" DeGaw says as she motors past the huge circle of pig pens. Each of the pigs has a name. Some are feral and some are domestic, but most are pot bellied pigs that have long outlived the fad of pigs as house pets.
"It is very fulfilling because you know at least you saved some lives," said the animal lover.
At 67-years-old
DeGaw runs the sanctuary pretty much alone. Her only finances are a Navy pension check and dwindling donations. And unfortunately her guests eat like pigs... and it's not just the swine. All the animals, from large ones like horses on down, require constant care.
"That's five bucks a bale and I put out four bales a day for that," DeGaw said, referring to the horses. "Two bales a day for the cattle and the donkeys, they're down the road. Then there are the dogs and the cats. The hen scratch I think is the cheapest."
DeGaw's love of animals is endless. "He's just laying around and getting loved on," DeGaw said patting a 200-pound pig named Dozer that she'd raised from an abandoned piglet.
Unfortunately, DeGaw's money supply isn't as endless as her affection. Feed costs have climbed and vet bills for wounded and sick animals have piled up.
A miniature horse recently had an eye removed. A mare had a deep eye and sinus infection just before that. Total, he bills from just those two procedures ran in the thousands of dollars. "This bill is going to be hard to catch up with the feed bill this month," DeGaw said.
For the first time in 17 years DeGaw worries that she and her animals will need someone to save them. "Where would they go? Who would take them?" she asked. "I've even been trying to find somebody to take over for me because I'm getting up in years and I'm not going to be able to do this forever. I just keep thinking it will all work out. That's my theory is that something will come to save me."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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